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Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Nintendo WiiWare) discussion [game]
 
  Santi N  
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 on the Wii

Welcome to the official discussion thread for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 on the Wii!

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So, I played the first two worlds and I have some impressions. In short: it's pretty good.

For someone like me, who suffered through Heroes, Black Knight and God forbid Shadow the Hedgehog, this game is glorious. But on its own, there are some things that hold it back from greatness, at least so far. It's like, imagine you're ten and your mom's been forcing you to eat a ton of broccoli and then suddenly she brings you some average ice cream. You're gonna love it, but that doesn't make it great.

I'm not going to explain how Sonic works. Because, it works just like the classic games. I'm only gonna focus on what I wanted to know before playing it. Design-wise, it's the sequel to Sonic 3. Without a doubt. From the moment you boot it up, it feels like one of the Genesis games in today's age. But then you start playing and find some small, but present annoyances. And it's those kinds of annoyances that have "Sega" written all over them. Dillo should know what I'm saying.

I will say this, though: Sonic 4 feels more like Sonic 3 than Sonic Advance, but there is some Advance in there. The level design is much more solid than that in the Advance titles. You hold right, you lose. But, there's a bit too much Homing Attack. Too many lined-up enemies in the air for you to kill with it. Too many speed bumpers. Like, seriously. There's no need to put a speed bumper before a loop. Let me charge my spin dash. Speaking of which, another "Sega" annoyance: you can't charge it with the 1 button. Only with 2. Why?

I actually love the graphics, and the music's alright. I would say, buy it. If you're a hardcore Sonic fan, you've suffered enough, man. You deserve this. Think back to Shadow the Hedgehog and be grateful you're playing this. You're not gonna cry in happiness, but you will not suffer. You will enjoy it.

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10/12/10, 01:19    Edited: 10/12/10, 01:20
 
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  Anand  
@Secret_Tunnel
They have some pretty weird flavors these days (and they always have in Japan), but I don't think that's one of them.
10/13/10, 18:01   
  GelatinousEncore  
I'm genuinely stuck in Stage 3, Act 2. In a level puzzle.

This is not Sonic Advance.
10/13/10, 18:24   
  Anand  
Is it desirable to be stuck in a Sonic game?
10/13/10, 18:30   
  GelatinousEncore  
It means it's not all just running to the right.
10/13/10, 18:41   
  GelatinousEncore  
I disagree. What are those fundamentals to you?
10/13/10, 19:03   
  OrbitalBeard  
Played for about an hour. It's fun. I hate the homing attack. I would just avoid using it if I could, but it's crucial to beating most levels, so you're stuck with it.

Other than that, game's pretty enjoyable, though it doesn't really feel like a Genesis-era Sonic game, save for the music and sound. Pretty fun game though.
10/13/10, 19:53   
Edited: 10/13/10, 19:56
  roknin  
Played the demo (which was lame, btw - one act? It's not really enough to get any sort of feel for the game), and... it has potential. From what little I played, I have to agree with Pandareus' assessment of Sonic's momentum. It just... does not feel good to me as a long-time fan of the 2D games.

Overall it seems like it might be okay. The music sounds generic though, which I was hoping it wouldn't... in fact, the first zone is pretty generic in and of itself.

I'm not sure if I want to shell out for the full game yet. We'll see.

GE said:
Sonic 4 feels more like Sonic 3 than Sonic Advance, but there is some Advance in there. The level design is much more solid than that in the Advance titles.

Am I the only one that liked the level design in some of the advance games? Particularly, Advance 1 and 3 (Advance 2 was pretty blah) felt really good, and Advance 3 was pretty tricky even in most of the early stages.

Sonic 4, thus far, seems to feel more like Sonic Rush Adventure, which was below par as far as level design (though I still like that game).
10/14/10, 13:19   
Edited: 10/14/10, 13:20
  roknin  
Update: I've actually come around on it after a couple more goes. The demo is certainly not enough to make a solid basis, but what's there has me heavily intrigued. I'm going to give it a go next week (after payday).
10/15/10, 19:37   
  GelatinousEncore  
I finished it and liked it. Not enough to be like OMG SONICS BACK, but enough to sell me on Episode 2.
10/15/10, 21:06   
  shinriley  
This is pretty much what I was complaining about in my initial post.
10/16/10, 07:31   
  Hinph  
Yeah, that video pretty much convinced me to stay far, far away from this game.
10/16/10, 08:11   
  roykoopa64  
@shinriley

Ouch, that's painful to watch. Why am I not surprised Sega screwed this up?
10/16/10, 08:18   
  Hinph  
Any other publisher would have realized that it's time to give this to a new development studio already... fucking Dimps and Sonic Team, over and over again.

There's gotta be lots of passionate little studios out there that could have gotten it right.
10/16/10, 08:25   
  TriforceBun  
That guy's elitist attitude near the beginning was pretty annoying, as was the implication that different = bad. But I will say that the lack of momentum demonstrated when you stop holding the button does indeed seem like a stupid decision.

Pirating WiiWare though :/
10/16/10, 08:32   
  Dillo64  
The guy in that video said pretty much everything I came in here to say. Well done comparisons too. Sega is pathetic.
10/16/10, 10:26   
  Cube191  
I downloaded it last night and played a few levels. I'm enjoying it but have no idea what I am doing (Sonic nOOb).

I got one of the crystals in the special zone. What is the criteria for making the special zones appear?


EDIT: I have just played a few more levels (outside the first zone). The level design is aweful. You constantly get hit by enemies that you can't avoid, mostly because the game throughs you at them. Some areas just have massive bottomless pits that you can only get over by using the homing move. This move dosn't always connect or 'home' on the right target for you to progress.
I am trying to do an area that has a rolling ball you are meant to stay on, but it goes off legdes and you have no way of working out where it will land so you can stay on it.

Are the old Sonic games like this?
10/16/10, 13:15   
Edited: 10/16/10, 14:08
  OrbitalBeard  
Hardcore old school Sonic fans are the worst. I agree Sonic 4 isn't nearly as good as the Genesis games, but the game isn't nearly as bad as some are saying.

I don't think it's a particularly great game, don't get me wrong. I'm actually kind of regretting paying $15 for it, but it is NOT a bad game. Not even close. It's just not as good as it could have been, which is certainly disappointing.
10/16/10, 15:56   
Edited: 10/16/10, 15:59
  OrbitalBeard  
@Simbabbad

I wasn't really referencing anyone in this thread when I called out old school Sonic fans. I'm referring to the people all over the internet who are losing their minds over Sonic 4 and the Sonic series in general. It's kind of scary how angry some people are over this game.

The Genesis games are definitely better, no doubt about it. The physics in Sonic 4 don't really bother me though, he still controls just fine, in my opinion. My problem with the game is that it's a bit too short for the asking price and all four zones are very similar to levels from Sonic 1, including the bosses.

Gameplay-wise, it feels good to me. I have a feeling Sonic Colors will end up much better than this game though.
10/16/10, 16:07   
Edited: 10/16/10, 16:10
  shinriley  
I wonder what would happen if Sega outsourced Sonic to Nintendo. "If" Sonic Colors (and I emphasize "if" because so far I'm liking what I see from that game) doesn't turn out well, it may have to come to that. I mean does it seem like Sonic team has no idea on how to make a Sonic game and are just experimenting with new ideas until one sticks?

@Cube191

Check out how the original Sonic games compare to Sonic 4 in part 2 of that guys rant.
10/16/10, 19:46   
  GelatinousEncore  
Huh. I didn't even notice all that. I did notice that the gameplay is a bit less "fluid" in Sonic 4, more "automatic" if that makes sense ... but I still enjoyed it.
10/16/10, 20:24   
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